By Michael Oen-Smith & Sapa-AFP
Nottingham - It was a new experience for South Africa captain Graeme Smith, not being able to call the tune in a Test.
But he remained upbeat after the first day's play in the third Test against England on Thursday.
"I would have liked (us to have taken) one or two more wickets at this stage, but I don't see us (as being) on the back foot. England won the toss and batted first on what is a good strip.
'We did not bowl well enough' "It was a little bit slow, and then it got better throughout the day once it dried, and Nasser Hussain and Mark Butcher played well. It is a credit to our bowlers that we managed to restrict England to 300 when two of their guys got hundreds.
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"From that point of view, I am really happy with the way the guys performed. There were also three lbw appeals that could easily have gone our way and changed the face of the day.
"I thought we bowled well, but we did not bowl well enough in the middle session between lunch and tea," said Smith.
"On another day, things could have gone our way and we could have had them 300 for six or seven. Who knows?
"We are not too unhappy. England are allowed to play well from time to time."
Butcher said: "I'm really pleased for the team because we took a bashing after (the innings defeat at) Lord's and rightly so.
"So it was nice to come out and show people that we can actually play this game.
"It's great too for Nasser. He really wears his heart on his sleeve, and everyone saw how much that century meant to him he. He had taken a battering personally."
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This article was originally published on page 22 of Cape Times on August 15, 2003
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